"High Voltage" Theft Deterent?

I'm a plumbing contractor and if you have a bunch of tools and such then you need to get a job box and put it in the back of your truck. Just the weight of the tools will keep anyone from lifting it out of your truck then when on the job just have a lull or something to pick it off the truck and put it in the building.

I'd think the offender wouldn't have much in terms of grounds based on what he/she was doing (on someone else's property and also stealing). At least I wouldn't be too worried about it. I'd also highly doubt it'd hurt your truck's electronics. I wouldn't be worried about mine anyways.

The problem isn't with the thief it's the the 3 year old kid that bumps it or the 80 year old that looses balance

Ok, I'll run this down for ya! I travel out of town from time to time for work. I am an industrial electrician. Over the last couple of years, I have been relieved of several tools, leads off of my welder, ice chests, tailgater BBQ's, ect... from the back of my truck. The latest, on my way to Williston, ND. In a stop over in Salina, Ks. Some a#@hole stole my beer out of my ice chest! 2 - 5 gallon diesel jugs(full) out of the back of my truck. While I was getting my beauty sleep. Now, here in ND, some other yahoo, relieved me of my tailgate BBQ grill. I'm getting pretty sour about it. That's the why, here is what I want to do! I want to put an alarm on my truck, but since I stay in hotels, and would not be able to get to my truck in time, if someone tried violating me again. I want to wire a relay in place of the siren, to run an electric fence charger hooked to my truck. Hidden of course. Idea is, that once armed. A yahoo sticks his body in my truck to get something, instead of a siren, it activates the relay, which in turn, powers up the fencer.. Teaching some unsuspecting yahoo acrobatics! And, no I don't care if they hurt themselves, if anybody is wondering. My question is, will the fencer High Voltage running through the metal parts on my truck harm any of the electronics? I am an electrician, and in my mind, it wouldn't, being the fencer is seeking a different ground. I will install a ground clamp in my grill that, I can put to a light pole, ground rod ect.. What do you guys think?

This is a potentially lethal mantrap and is *very* specifically illegal in the state of Texas. If someone gets zapped by it and dies, you will be going to jail for a very, very long time.

Texas Penal Code 9.44:

Sec. 9.44. USE OF DEVICE TO PROTECT PROPERTY. The justification afforded by Sections 9.41 and 9.43 applies to the use of a device to protect land or tangible, movable property if:
(1) the device is not designed to cause, or known by the actor to create a substantial risk of causing, death or serious bodily injury; and
(2) use of the device is reasonable under all the circumstances as the actor reasonably believes them to be when he installs the device.

If you install such a device and the person dies, you are looking at at least a manslaughter charge with *no* defense - especially since you have posted the above here, which in this tech enlightened time would be used against you at your trial as evidence of premeditation.

If they don't die, the charge may be attempted murder or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Both are felonies. Oh, and the perp or the estate of the perp *can* sue you (for wrongful death among other things) since your use of deadly force was not justified.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Royson12

I don't know the laws everywhere else. In Texas, I know of business that have electrified fences around there property. They do have signs, warning of such. But, apparently it is legal in Texas.

A clearly marked electric fence or even a barbed wire fence around a property is legal in Texas because of the need to contain livestock and animals. (It's somewhere in the Agricultural Code, I forget exactly where.) However, most cities say that you cannot use it inside their limits except for agricultural or industrial applications.

I thought of this sort of thing several years ago when there was a rash of auto burglaries going around. I spoke with several attorneys and a DA regarding the issue, and they all pretty much had the same thing to say: Good way to go to jail.

Brad's right. Even when someone is committing a crime they can sue. The law is a fickled bich.

Im thinking if you are going this route you would want to be sure it 'takes care of them' because just like law suits involving a burglar getting shot while robbing a house it is much easier for it to be your word against nobody.
Funny idea tho!

No one around here stores (not just carrys but _stores_ anything more valuable than the spare tire in the bed of their truck without either a topper or a HARD (not one you can cut through with a knife) tonneau. Next to the lock on the tonneau/topper, put a nice friendly-worded sticker - "We're sorry, but due to the rising price of ammunition, we are no longer able to provide a warning shot."

Brad's right. Even when someone is committing a crime they can sue. The law is a fickled bich.

Im thinking if you are going this route you would want to be sure it 'takes care of them' because just like law suits involving a burglar getting shot while robbing a house it is much easier for it to be your word against nobody.
Funny idea tho!

That's what an old LE once said about a break in. He said a dead assailant is the only one that can't sue for injuries. But this still shocks me... what rights does a person have who breaks in? pretty sad in my opinion.

I don't think in this case anyone would be looking for a dead assailant. I doubt any state's laws would allow a person to fire on a theif taking from a truck bed. I think if someone was breaking into an occupied cab and a threat to life and limb... that'd be a different story. But even that right (to life) can be legally muddied at times it seems.

That's what an old LE once said about a break in. He said a dead assailant is the only one that can't sue for injuries. But this still shocks me... what rights does a person have who breaks in? pretty sad in my opinion.

I don't think in this case anyone would be looking for a dead assailant. I doubt any state's laws would allow a person to fire on a theif taking from a truck bed. I think if someone was breaking into an occupied cab and a threat to life and limb... that'd be a different story. But even that right (to life) can be legally muddied at times it seems.

We need the old west back... lol.

I was thinking more along the lines of 'be sure your zapping mechanism provides the proper amps to do the job'
lol

I was thinking more along the lines of 'be sure your zapping mechanism provides the proper amps to do the job'
lol

Yeah I knew what you meant and I agree I was just relating it to what that old LE had said.

I personally feel that any thief deserves whatever they've got coming to them and they SHOULD be afraid for their life. I'd definitely have no sympathy for a poor guy who was electric fenced while stealing fuel. But apparently some courts may. Too bad if/when this would be the case.

I think the OP's idea is more than a fair deal. lol. Sad that they may have rights to steal without pain.

Short story: my electronics Professor in Maritime school told us that years ago he was working in a semiconductor plant as a 1st shift assembler or something; he had one of those large SnapOn or Matco boxes and someone started taking a couple tools from his box every day while he was @ home. As the story goes he rigged up a capacitor of some fashion and a plate at the base of the box where u stand; he had some sort of drawer switch.. Anyway he said from the reports he got the perp was severely hammered by this devise when he made another attempt and went on to say it NEVER happened again.. Course that was back when if you were a skeezy thief no one had any liberal compassion for your sorry ***...

I know what you mean about crack heads stilling your stuff. Had my house and work trucks rob before. Local cop said if I can catch them on video I can do anything to protect my suff. Try the old school 12 v coil on a job box in the bed of your truck. You a electrician wire a switch on the box so when they lean agains your truck and open the box it will fire the coil and light them up. Buy a motion active video camera and put on you truck , then there nothing the law can do to you . I rig a old school coil on my metal garbage cans and watch my neighbors dog jump 10 ft in the air . Laugh my *** off.

a friend many many years ago had 4 stereos stolen out of the dash of his C-20 4X4 in 2 months.
one night i was over his house and heard a god awful racket outside, and he started laughing.

he called the police and told them to send an ambulance.
tired of replacing the stereo, he tack welded razor blades to the case before very carefully installing it.

that was also the last stereo he ever had stolen out of his truck.

the police followed the blood trail 3 blocks away to a house where they found the wife trying to bandage the drug addicts hands.

__________________Tom
Moderator of the "not wrapped too tight forum"
rarely in life do you meet a person that will drop everything to help a stranger,
and give the shirt off his back to a friend.
Steve Price was that kind of person.
Godspeed "window licker", the short bus will never be the same with you gone.

Sorry, I don't want to hurt anybody but I am a electrical contractor and when you put 8.2 k in copper wire in a job and come in the next day and it's all gone you will do what ever you can to protect you wire. My builder and I do what we can to protect or jobs. You would not believe the people we catch stealing material off of jobs. Nanny cams are a great thing. And don't think I will put 120 volts on a circuit with warning labels and they still will try to steal it. We had one man went up a pole and try to unhook the wire from a transformer and he got cook. Video caught him in the act. We were back to work in 4 hrs. We post signs etc. all over the jobs and they still will try to steal material.

So protect what is yours. Just catch it on camera and let your colt 45 do your talking.

a few years ago we had a 4 some steeling copper out of an older Budweiser yeast factors that was closed down.
they got the bright idea to take the large copper buss bars off the transformer.
the local cops went investigating a report of an explosion at the plant and found what was left of the 4 guys.

seems they climbed up on top of the 36KV transformer and grabbed the buss bars not knowing the transformer was still live.

i guess they figured since the wires were not connect between the building and the buss bars the underground wires from the high tension tower to the transformer were not connected either.

__________________Tom
Moderator of the "not wrapped too tight forum"
rarely in life do you meet a person that will drop everything to help a stranger,
and give the shirt off his back to a friend.
Steve Price was that kind of person.
Godspeed "window licker", the short bus will never be the same with you gone.

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